CCFF 2018: Damsel

A wholly original film with a twist you never see coming, Damsel is a hysterical western from the minds of David Zellner and Nathan Zellner. Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson) has tracked down the location of the woman he plans to marry, Penelope (Mia Wasikowska).  As he sets through in his journey, he hires Parson Henry (David Zellner) to officiate the wedding when he finds his future bride in addition to a gift, a miniature horse called Butterscotch.  Samuel…

"CCFF 2018: Damsel"

CCFF 2018: Leave No Trace

Debra Granik’s third narrative feature, Leave No Trace, is a emotionally powerful film to say the least. We first meet Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) in their fourth year of living in Forest Park.  It’s illegal to live in public land but the two of them have gotten away with living on the outskirts of Portland for so long.  After Tom gets noticed by someone walking in the woods, it…

"CCFF 2018: Leave No Trace"

Jurassic Park Remains A Classic After 25 Years

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park remains an innovative, groundbreaking and inspiring classic as it did when it was originally released 25 years ago in June. Shortly after the incident on Isla Nublar and the quick introduction of lawyer Donald Gennaro, the film really gets going with paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and paleobotonist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) digging up a velociraptor in Montana. Their dig is shortly interrupted by a helicopter, which leads to Grant and Sattler…

"Jurassic Park Remains A Classic After 25 Years"

Tribeca 2018: Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest NBA players of all time.  What Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1 does is explore the true story behind the classic Air Jordan shoes. It can be said Jordan was the best thing to have ever happened for Nike.  Nike was being killed in the marketing by Adidas in the early 1980s.  Not only that but future Hall of Famers like Larry Bird and others were under contract to Converse. …

"Tribeca 2018: Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1"

Bad Samaritan: A Hitchcockian Thriller

Bad Samaritan is a thriller in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock. What Dean Devlin has done with the direction of the film is make a Hitchcock film for the 21st century. Sean Falco (Robert Sheehan) and Derek Sandoval (Carlito Olivero) use their employment as valets for Nino in order to run a burglary scheme while patrons eat their meals.  It’s all fun and game until Sean happens upon the home of Cale Erendreich (David Tennant). It’s…

"Bad Samaritan: A Hitchcockian Thriller"

Tully: A Commanding Performance from Charlize Theron

Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody have reteamed to bring us Tully, a modern-day look at parenting and how it takes over so much of our lives. Parenting is exhausting.  There’s no other way to say it.  It’s something that Diablo Cody seeks to explore in the script for Tully.  There’s always something about Jason Reitman bringing Cody’s words to the big screen.  Cody has a way with writing and this film proves that…

"Tully: A Commanding Performance from Charlize Theron"

Paddington 2 is A Must-Own Film

With the life lessons it offers, Paddington 2 is a film that should probably belong in every movie collection. With Paddington’s Aunt Lucy marking her 100th birthday, he wants to get her the best present possible.  This comes in the form of a pop-up book discovered in Mr. Gruber’s shop.  In order to afford it, Paddington takes on a series of jobs to get the money…or at least tries to, anyway.  It’s only when Phoenix…

"Paddington 2 is A Must-Own Film"

National Lampoon’s Van Wilder hits Blu-ray

National Lampoon’s Van Wilder doesn’t hold up as the 2002 comedy hits Blu-ray for the second time in over a decade. Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds) has been attending Coolidge College for seven years.  He’s been attending the school for so long that he brings in assistant after assistant to help him plan his party schedule.  After interviewing several candidates, Van settles on Taj Badalandabad (Kal Penn).  It’s shortly thereafter that his father, Vance Wilder Sr. (Tim…

"National Lampoon’s Van Wilder hits Blu-ray"

Tribeca 2018: The Goodnight Show

With an impending doom from an asteroid on the horizon, The Goodnight Show offers a touch of sentimentality. The Goodnight Show is far from the doom that was Armageddon or Deep Impact.  I can go on and on naming all the films in which an asteroid collides with earth and we’d be here all day.  This short film, directed by Charlie Schwan, is something else.  While there is an asteroid on path to collision with…

"Tribeca 2018: The Goodnight Show"

Tribeca 2018: The 716th

The 716th is a fun little sci-fi comedy in the vein of M*A*S*H meets Star Trek. What is known at the start of the film is that it’s Year 42 of the Rak War in the Outer Durad System.  Ash (John Asher) and Doc (Andrew Bowen) are revealed as being wayward nonautomated combat medics who learn that two of their own are being left on an alien world to fend for themselves.  Neither Doc nor…

"Tribeca 2018: The 716th"